The Vittoriano is a national monument built to honour King Victor Emmanuel II. You may also hear it called the Victor Emmanuel II National Monument or the Altar of the Fatherland. Or even ‘The Typewriter’ if you’re talking to the locals.

With building work ongoing between 1885 and 1911, the unfinished monument was inaugurated on the 50th anniversary of Italian unification. The monument was finally completed in 1927.